14/08/2004
NEWS STORY
Team SAUBER PETRONAS drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa will start tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix from eighth and 20th positions respectively after this afternoon's qualifying sessions.
Giancarlo Fisichella: "Today was totally opposite to yesterday! We made a big improvement in the balance of the car and it was more consistent as a result so I was more confident in its behaviour. I think maybe the weather conditions also played in our favour a little. It will be difficult to score points tomorrow, but that is of course our target and starting well within the top 10 will certainly help us."
Felipe Massa: "What can I say? Of all the circuits we visit this one, together with Monaco, is the most difficult on which to overtake and therefore the worst on which to have an engine problem that loses you grid positions. It's such a shame because we made a big step forward with the set-up today. The balance was way better. And you know, I made a lot of mistakes on my prequalifying lap, yet still managed to set a good time. It's frustrating because this could be our strongest race of the season, but at least by not going out to qualify I saved a set of tyres and I'll be pushing to make best use of them at the start. My hopes for the race rest almost entirely on how well the opening lap goes for me."
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "Congratulations to the team for such a strong qualifying performance. First of all I'd like to mention Giancarlo, who did a magnificent job, and Bridgestone, who provided us with a new tyre compound that worked very well here. It's a real pity that Felipe had an engine failure this morning because otherwise we could have had both drivers in the top 10. Finally, thank you to all the staff at Hinwil, who have been working so diligently recently to make further improvements in the SAUBER PETRONAS C23."